{\J 

^€0 


; 


"WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT" 

/  HORACE  GREELEY'S 

SECESSION,  WAR  AND  DIPLOMATIC 

KECOKD.  5^ 

A  LETTER  WRITTEN   (NOT  PUBLISHED)   IN   1870, 


BY 


THURLOW    WEED 


TO 


THOMAS    C.    ACTON. 


NEW   YORK  : 

JAMES  McGEE,  PRINTER,  647  BROADWAY. 
1872. 


FRED  LOCKLEY 
RARE  WESTERN  BOOKS 


422  /  =>•  E..5»*»" 
PORTLAND.  ORE. 


The  letter  which  is  herewith  -submitted  to  the  public  contain 
ing  Mr.  WEED'S  reasons  in  declining  to  vote  for  Mr.  GREELEY 
when  a  candidate  for  State  Comptroller  in  1867,  and  in  again 
with  holding  his  vote  from  GREELEY  when  a  candidate  for  Con 
gress  in  1870,  will,  it  is  believed,  attract  general  attention  and 
approval.  It  is  a  calm  review  of  Mr.  GREELEY'S  teachings  and 
movements  preceding  and  during  Secession  and  Rebellion. 
Mr.  GREELEY,  is  held  largely  responsible  not  only  for  Rebellion. 
but  for  the  millions  of  treasure  and  the  rivers  of  blood  which 
it  cost.  The  evidence  adduced  in  justification  of  these  charges 
is  drawn  from  the  editorial  columns  of  the  Tribune ;  and  so 
conclusive  is  this  evidence  that  no  patriotic  elector  will  fail  to 
find  in  Mr  WEED'S  letter  abundant  reason  for  now  withholding 
his  vote  from  Mr.  GREELEY,  as  a  candidate  for  President  of  the 
United  States. 


£ 
i 

i 


NEW  YORK,  Oct.  10,  1870. 

Dear  Sir : — A  year  ago  you  made  an  earnest  appeal 
for  my  vote  in  favor  of  Mr.  Greeley  for  State  Comptroller. 
Assuming  that  I  had  strong  personal  reasons  for  refusing 
to  vote  for  Mr.  Greeley,  you  urged  very  properly  that 
these  should  yield  to  public  considerations.  I  readily 
acquiesced  in  this  view  of  the  question^  and  resolved  to 
govern  my  action  in  accordance  with  it.  I  calmly  exam 
ined  the  relative  qualifications  of  the  two  candidates. 
Mr.  Greeley  had  been  educated  a  printer,  and  had  de 
voted  himself  exclusively  to  his  profession.  He  had, 
therefore,  no  knowledge  or  experience  in  the  duties  of 
the  office  of  Comptroller.  Nor  were  his  talents,  his  hab 
its  or  his  tastes  adapted  to  financial  duties.  The  idea 
that  the  editor  of  a  leading  daily  journal  could  so  divide 
his  time  between  New  York  and  Albany  as  to  discharge 
the  duties  of  Comptroller  in  addition  to  those  of  the 
editor,  seemed  to  me  not  only  impossible,  but  preposter 
ous.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  what  is  so  generally 
known,  that  the  office  of  Comptroller  is  altogether  the 
most  important,  laborious  and  responsible  in  the  State. 
I  have  personally  known  its  incumbents  for  considerably 
more  than  half  a  century.  Among  them  were  Archibald 
Mclntyre,  John  Savage,  William  L.  Marcy,  Silas  Wright, 
Jr.,  Azariah  C.  Flagg,  John  A.  Collier,  Millard  Fillmore, 
Washington  Hunt,  Philo  C.  Fuller,  James  M.  Cook, 
Thomas  Hillliouse,  etc.,  etc.,  all  men  distinguished  for 
ability  and  industry,  not  one  of  whom  ever  attempted  to 
attend  to  any  other  business,  and  all  of  whom  found  con 
stant  and  full  occupation,  physical  and  mental,  in  the 
discharge  of  their  public  duties.  Without,  therefore,  rec 
ognizing  other  and  strong  reasons  for  withholding  my 
vote  for  Mr.  Greeley,  I  considered  those  which  I  have 
stated  quite  sufficient. 

In  his  opponent,  William  F.  Allen,  I  found  a  capable 

JVJ26262 


and  enlightened  man,  with  some  experience,  much  in 
dustry,  and  peculiar  fitness  for  the  duties  of  that  office. 
I  had  known  him  first  as  an  able  and  useful  member  of 
our  Legislature,  and  next  as  an  eminently  upright  Judge. 
My  only  difficulty,  therefore,  in  deciding  to  vote  for  Mr. 
Allen  was  that  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  a  nominee  of  the 
Democratic  party.  But  this  objection  was  obviated  in 
my  mind  by  the  fact — a  fact  well  known  to  both  political 
parties — that  from  the  beginning  of  the  Rebellion  in 
1861,  to  the  end  of  the  war  in  1865,  Judge  Allen  was  an 
avowed,  earnest,  active  War  Democrat,  and  this  rendered 
it  easy  to  cast  my  vote,  as  I  did,  in  favor  of  William  F. 
Allen  for  Comptroller.  I  may  add  that,  in  subsequently 
voting  for  Mr.  Allen  for  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
my  only  regret  was  that  at  a  time  of  almost  universal  offi 
cial  demoralization  the  State  would  lose  the  services  of  a 
fearless  and  incorruptible  Comptroller. 

Mr.  Greeley  now  turns  up  as  a  candidate  for  Congress 
from  the  district  in  which  I  reside.  You  again  urge  me 
to  vote  for  him,  and  I  have  taken  the  subject  into  calm 
and  serious  consideration.  Lifting  my  thoughts  above 
all  things  merely  personal,  I  have  endeavored  to  ascer 
tain  whether  Mr.  Greeley,  upon  public  grounds,  is  enti 
tled  to  my  vote.  Having  reached  the  conclusion  that  I 
cannot  vote  for  Mr.  Greeley,  I  will  give  you  my  reasons 
— reasons  which  constitute,  in  my  own  judgment,  a  per 
fect  justification — reasons  which  ought  to  deprive  him  of 
the  vote  of  every  loyal  elector  in  the  district. 

Mr.  Greeley,  for  several  months  before  the  Rebellion, 
while  that  question  was  rife  in  the  Southern  States,  was 
an  avowed,  earnest,  and  persistent  secessionist.  As  the 
editor  of  a  leading  and  widely  circulating  Republican 
journal,  he  exerted  an  influence  at  once  powerful  and 
malign.  Indeed,  but  for  that  influence  it  would  have 
been  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  have  withdrawn  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Georgia  from  the  Union.  To 
show  you  that  I  do  not  state  this  point  too  strongly,  let 
me  refresh  your  memory  with  editorial  extracts  from  the 
Tribune : 


(From  the  Tribune  of  November  9,  1860.) 

"  If  the  Cotton  States  shall  become  satisfied  they  can 
"  do  better  out  of  the  Union  than  in  it,  we  insist  on  letting 
"  them  go  in  peace.  The  right  to  secede  may  be  a  revolu- 
"  tionary  one,  but  it  exists  nevertheless.  When  any  con- 
"  siderable  section  of  our  Union  shall  deliberately  resolve 
"  to  go  out  we  shall  resist  all  coercive  measures  designed 
"  to  keep  it  in.  We  hope  never  to  live  in  a  Republic 
41  where  one  section  is  pinned  to  the  other  by  bayonets." 

(From  the  Tribune,  November  26,  1860.) 

"  If  the  Cotton  States,  unitedly  and  earnestly,  wish  to 
"withdraw  peacefully  from  the  Union,  we  think  they 
"  should  and  would  be  allowed  to  go.  Any  attempt  to 
"  compel  them  by  force  to  remain  would  be  contrary  to  the 
"  principles  enunciated  in  the  immortal  Declaration  of 
"  Independence,  contrary  to  the  fundamental  ideas  on 
"  which  human  liberty  is  based." 

(From  the  Tribune  of  December  17,  1860). 

"  If  (the  Declaration  of  Independence)  justified  the 
•"  secession  from  the  British  Empire  of  three  millions  of  col- 
"  onists  in  1776,  we  do  not  see  why  it  would  not  justify 
**  the  secesession  of  five  millions  of  Southrons  from  the 
"  Union  in  1861." 

(From  the  Tribune  of  February  23,  1861.) 

"  Whenever  it  shall  be  clear  that  the  great  body  of  the 
"Southern  people  have  become  conclusively  alienated 
"from  the  Union,  and  anxious  to  escape  from  it,  we 
"  will  do  our  best  to  forward  their  views" 

Such  was  the  language  of  Mr.  Greeley,  and  such  the 
teachings  of  the  Tribune  during  the  autumn  and  winter 
of  1860-1861,  while  secession  and  rebellion  were  at  work 
in  severing  the  Union,  and  while  States  like  stars  were 
dropping  out  of  their  orbits.  A  Governor  of  South 
Carolina  in  urging  that  State  to  inaugurate  treason  in- 

o      o  o 

formed  his  hearers  that  the  New  York  Tribune  had 
openly  declared  that  the  Southern  States  had  as  clear  a 
right  to  rebel  against  the  Federal  Government  as  the 
"thirteen  States  in  1776  had  to  rebel  against  the  Govern 
ment  of  George  the  Third,  adding  that,  "in  this  emerg- 
our  worst  enemies  have  become  our  best  friends." 


The  State  of  Georgia  held  out  long  arid  manfully 
against  the  traitors  in  its  legislature  who  advocated  the 
Ordinance  of  Secession,  but  finally  and  reluctantly  broke 
from  its  moorings  when  Robert  J.  Toombs,  in  one  of  his 
vehement  speeches,  produced  and  read  from  the  New 
York  Tribune,  the  articles  from  which  I  have  now  made 
brief  extracts.  You  will  see,  therefore,  that  Mr. 
Greeley  invited  and  encouraged  the  Southern  States 
to  go  out  of  the  Union ;  that  he  promised  them 
aid  and  comfort ;  and  that  he  denied  the  right  of 
the  Federal  Government  to  interfere.  Why,  then,  is 
he  not,  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  as  obnoxious  a 
secessionist  as  Jefferson  Davis,  or  Senators  Mason  and 
Slidell  ?  Indeed,  if  there  be  any  difference,  Davis,  Mason 
and  Slidell  occupy  vantage  ground,  for  Mr.  Greeley  has 
not  the  excuse  of  being  a  Southern  man. 

When  the  war  commenced  Mr.  Greeley  arrogantly 
assumed  the  right  to  dictate  a  policy  for  the  Administra 
tion,  and  to  command  the  Army.  Long  before  the  Pres 
ident,  Secretary  of  War,  or  the  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Army  deemed  it  prudent  to  make  a  forward  move 
ment,  Mr.  Greeley  issued  and  reiterated  in  the  Tribune, 
his  well  remembered  and  ominous  order  of  "  On  to  Rich 
mond."  And  such  was  its  power  over  the  minds  of  an 
impulsive  people  and  an  impatient  Congress,  that,  wholly 
unprepared  as  we  were,  our  army  was  prematurely  forced 
into  a  disastrous  battl \  For  that  cruel  slaughter  of  oui 
undisciplined  troops,  and  for  that  humiliation  to  our  Gov 
ernment  and  people,  Mr.  Greeley,  in  a  remorseful  moment 
confessed  himself  "  greatly  to  blame." 

Subsequently,  during  the  darkest  days  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  especially  when  our  armies  were  defeated,  or  at  bay, 
the  Tribune  either  howled  for  peace,  or  teemed  with 
denunciations  against  the  President  or  the  Army  Com 
manders.  In  the  gloomy  Autumn  of  1862,  Mr.  Greeley 
headed  a  radical  raid  upon  the  President  in  favor  of  an 
Abolition  Cabinet.  Wendell  Phillips,  who  was  brought 
to  New  York  to  further  that  movement,  made  the  leading 
speech.  After  expressing  his  belief  that  "Lincoln  him- 


"  self  is  as  honest  as  a  man  born  in  Kentucky  can  be,'7 
said  : — "  But  I  have  no  confidence  in  the  counsels  about 
"  him.  I  have  no  confidence  in  the  views  of  your  son  of 
"  New  York,  who  stands  at  his  right  hand  to  guide  the 
"vessel  of  State  in  this  tremendous  storm."  In  the  same 
speech  Mr.  Phillips  said,  that  in  "  December  I860,  James 
"  Buchanan  wrote  a  message  to  Congress  which  he  subr 
"  mitted  to  William  H.  Seward,  and  from  that  time  to 
"  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  no  fortnight  passed  that  he 
"  did  not  consult  your  Xew  York  Senator  in  regard  to 
"  the  policy  of  the  Government."  "  If  the  history  of  the 
"  closing  months  is  written  over  with  treason.  I  say  that 
"  the  Secretary  of  State  (Seward)  has  his  share  of  the 
"  responsibility." 

Mr.  Greeley  who  knew  that  this  charge  of  treason 
against  Mr.  Seward  was  utterly  untrue,  made  himself 
tacitly  responsible  for  the  calumny  by  following  his  lead 
er  with  a  brief  speech,  so  cold  and  icy  as  to  dishearten  all 
the  timid,  and  to  awaken  the  indignation  of  all  the  earn 
est  friends  of  the  Union.  Mr.  Greeley  came  forward  and 
said  : — "  Fellow  Citizens :  when  this  struggle  commenced, 
"  I  think  I  was  not  as  gay  and  as  sanguine  as  some  of 
"  you  were.  I  did  not  believe  if  we  had  a  Civil  War  at 
"  all,  it  could  be  a  little  war.  I  did  believe,  and  I  believe 
"  now,  it  might  have  been  made  a  little  war  by  striking 
"  so  soon,  and  striking  so  strongly,  that  it  would  not  have 
"  been  a  Civil  War  at  all.  We  are  now  in  the  midst  of 
"  this  war.  I  do  not  see  the  immediate  result  of  the  war. 
"  I  ain  not  sanguine  that  under  the  leaders  we  have,  the 
"management  we  have,  an  immediate  triumph  is  at 
"all  certain.  We  may  have  that,  we  are  more  likely 
"  not  to  have  that." 

Returning  from  Cooper  Institute,  where  Messrs.  Phil 
lips  and  Greeley  were  delivered  of  speeches,  to  the  Trib 
une  office,  Mr.  Greeley  complacently  issues  the  following 
comprehensive  edict : 

"  1.  Reorganize  the  cabinet,  and  compose  it  of  seven  of 
"  the  ablest  and  most  loyal  men  in  the  whole  country— 
"  men  who  thoroughly  believe  in  the  war,  and  who  do  not 


8 

"  believe  that  loyal  Americans  ought  to  be  treated  as 
"  chattels. 

"  2.  Dismiss  from  the  service  every  officer  who  persists 
"  in  cavilling  at,  and  exciting  hostilities  to  the  policy  of 
"  the  Government. 

"  3.  Stop  the  coast  survey,  and  shut  up  the  West  Point 
"  Academy. 

"  4.  Call  out  the  uniform  militia  of  the  loyal  States  for 
u  three  months,  and  employ  them  to  garrison  Washing- 
"  ton,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  and  Louisville. 

"  Such  are  our  notions  of  the  war.  We  cannot  doubt 
"  that  our  soldiers  will  speedily  put  down  the  rebellion, 
"if  our  generals  will  but  let  them." 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  none  were  more  jubi 
lant  over  our  successes  than  Mr.  Greeley,  but  when  re 
verses  came  his  croaking  voice  was  heard  in  shrill  and 
discordant  demands  for  peace.  At  a  time  when  a  series 
of  discouraging  defeats  had  occasioned  intense  solicitude, 
whea  Southern  Traitors  and  Northern  Copperheads  were 
rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  the  destruction  of  our  Govern 
ment,  Mr.  Greeley,  in  a  double-leaded  editorial,  said : 

"  IF  AFTER  SIXTY  DAYS  MORE  HARD  FIGHTING  THE  ENEMY 
"  IS  NOT  BEATEN,  IT  WILL  BECOME  THE  DUTY  OF  THE  GoV- 
«  ERNMENT  TO  MAKE  PEACE  ON  THE  BEST  ATTAIN- 

"ABLE  TEEMS.'1 

Thus  encouraged  and  stimulated  by  this  cowardly  de 
mand  for  peace  by  the  leading  Republican  journal,  the 
enemy  prosecuted  the  war  with  renewed  confidence  and 
vigor. 

Soon  after  this  gratuitous,  ill-timed  and  insolent  de 
mand  for  peace,  Mr.  Greeley,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  mud 
dle-headed  adventurer  (Colorado  Jewett),  obtained  the 
President's  consent  that  he  might  make  a  peace  pilgrim 
age  to  Canada,  where  George  ft*  Sanders  and  other  trait 
ors  were  hatching  conspiracies  and  raids.  With  these 
congenial  spirits  he  was  so  much  pleased  that  he  re 
proached  Mr.  Lincoln  for  not  confiding  to  him  the  power 
••  ®f  making  peace  upon  the  best  attainable  terms.''  And 
vifch  Mr.  Greeley  were  the  conspirators  soirwoh  charmed 


that,  one  of  them  (C.  0.  Clay)  drew  up  a  call  for  a  pub 
lic  meeting  in  the  city  of  New  York,  commending  Mr. 
Greeley  for  his  patriotic  and  laudable  efforts  to  negotiate  a 
peace.  That  call  was  sent  to  New  York  by  G.  "W.  McLean, 
but  fell  into  the  hands  of  Richard  Schell,  a  loyal  Demo 
crat,  "  who  took  the  responsibility"  of  suppressing  it. 
Jewett's  letter  to  Mr.  Greeley  ran  as  follows : 

"NIAGARA  FALLS,  July  5,  1864. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Greeley  : — In  reply  to  your  note  I  have 
"  to  advise,  having  just  left  Hon.  George  N.  Sanders,  of 
"  Kentucky,  on  the  Canada  side,  I  am  authorized  to  state 
"  to  you,  for  our  use  only — not  the  public — that  the  am- 
"bassadors  of  Davis  &  Co.  are  now  in  Canada  with  full 
"  and  complete  powers  for  a  peace.  And  Mr.  Sanders  re- 
"  quests  that  you  come  on  immediately  to  me  at  the  Cat- 
"  aract  House,  to  have  a  private  interview,  or  if  you  will 
"  send  the  President's  protection  for  him  and  two  friends, 
"  they  will  come  on  and  meet  you.  He  says  the  whole 
"  matter  can  be  consummated  by  me,  you,  them,  and 
•"  President  Lincoln. 

«  Yours,         W.  C.  JEWETT." 

With  no  other  or  better  reason  or  authority  than  this 
letter  Mr.  Greeley  immediately  assumed  the  language 
and  authority  of  a  diplomatist,  and  wrote  a  long,  sugges 
tive,  pregnant  letter  to  the  President,  of  which  the  fol 
lowing  is  an  extract : — 

"NEW  YORK,  July  7,  1864. 

"  I  venture  to  enclose  to  you  a  letter  and  telegraphic 
"  dispatch  which  I  received  yesterday  from  our  irrepress- 
"  ible  friend,  Colorado  Jewett,  at  Niagara  Falls.  I  think 
"  they  deserve  attention,  as  evidencing  the  anxiety  of 
"  the  Confederates  everywhere  for  peace,  and,  therefore, 
"  I  venture  to  remind  you  that  our  bleeding,  bankrupt, 
'•"  almost  dying  country  which  longs  for  peace — shudders  at 
"  the  prospect  of  fresh  conscriptions,  of  further  whole- 
^  sale  devastations,  and  of  new  rivers  of  human  blood; 
'"  and  a  wide-spread  conviction  that  the  Government  and 
'"  its  prominent  supporters  are  not  anxious  for  peace^  and 
"  do  not  improve  proffered  opportunities  to  achieve  it,  is 
•"  doing  ^reat  harm  now,  etc.  etc."  (Page  572,  Raymond's 


10 

"  Life  of  Lincoln.)  "  Do  not,  I  entreat  you,  fail  to  make 
"  the  Southern  people  comprehend  that  you  and  all  of 
u  us  are  anxious  for  peace,  and  prepared  to  grant  liberal 
terms. 

"  Mr.  President,  I  fear  that  you  do  not  realize  how  in- 
"  tently  the  people  desire  any  peace,  consistent  with  the 
"  national  integrity  and  honor,  and  how  joyfully  they 
"  would  hail  its  achievement  and  bless  its  authors. 
"  Yours  truly, 

"  HORACE  GREELEY. 
"  Hon.  A.  LINCOLN,  President,  Washington,  D.  C." 

Accompanying  this  letter  was  Mr.  Greeley's  plan  of  ad 
justment,  in  which  he  proposed  to  pay  four  hundred  mil 
lion  dollars,  which  sum  was  to  be  apportioned  pro  rata 
among  the  Slave  States,  and  placed  at  the  absolute  dis 
posal  of  their  respective  legislatures.  In  a  subsequent 
letter,  Mr.  Greeley  informed  the  President  that  Clement 
C.  Clay,  of  Alabama,  and  Jacob  Thompson,  of  Mississippi, 
were  the  Peace  Commissioners  referred  to.  Before  the 
bubble  burst,  the  following  letter  was  received  from  San 
ders  : — 

"  CLIFTON  HOUSE,  NIAGARA  FALLS,  C.  W., 
"  July  12,  1864. 

u  Dear /Sir : — I  am  authorized  to  say  that  the  Hon. 
"  Clement  C.  Clay,  of  Alabama,  Professor  James  P.  Hul- 
"  combe,  of  Virginia,  and  George  N.  Sanders  of  Dixie, 
"  are  ready  and  willing  to  go  at  once  to  Washington, 
"  upon  complete  and  unqualified  protection  being  given 
u  either  by  the  President  or  Secretary  of  War.  Let  the 
"  permission  include  the  three  names  and  one  other. 

"  Very  Respectfully, 
"  GEORGE  K  SANDERS. 
"  HON.  HORACE  GREELEY." 

To  Mr.  Greeley's  importunities  Mr.  Lincoln  finally 
yielded,  and  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  G.  said  : — 

"  If  you  can  find  any  person,  anywhere,  professing 
"  to  have  any  proposition  of  Jefferson  Davis  in  writing 
"  for  peace,  embracing  the  restoration  of  the  Union  and 
"  the  abandonment  of  slavery,  say  to  him,  he  may  come 
;<  to  me  with  you,  and  that  he  shall  have  safe  conduct  to 
"  the  point  where  you  shall  have  met  him  ;  the  same  if 
"  there  be  two  or  more  persons." 


11 

That,  however,  did  not  satisfy  Mr.  Greeley,  who  re 
quired  something  more  definite,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  after 
another  letter,  in  which  he  said  : — "  I  not  only  intend  a 
"  sincere  effort  for  peace,  but  I  intend  that  you  shall  be 
"  a  personal  witness  that  it  is  made,"  sent  his  Secretary 
to  ~Ncw  York,  with  an  authority  to  guarantee  the  safety 
of  Mr.  Greeley's  Confederate  friends  in  their  proposed 
journey  to  Washington  and  back.  In  accordance  with 
that  authority,  Mr.  Greeley  departed  for  Canada,  with 
the  following  order  in  his  pocket : — 

"  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States  directs  that  the 
"  four  persons  whose  names  follow,  i.  e.  the  Hon.  Clement 
"  C.  Clay,  the  Hon.  Jacob  Thompson,  Professor  Jame& 
"  B.  Holcombe,  and  George  N.  Sanders,  shall  have  safe 
"  conduct  to  the  City  of  Washington,  in  company  with 
"  the  Hon.  Horace  Greeley,  and  shall  be  exempt  from 
u  arrest  and  annoyance  of  any  kind  from  any  officer  of 
"  the  United  States  during  their  journey  to  the  said  city 
u  of  Washington. 

"  BY    ORDER    OF    THE    PRESIDENT. 

"  JOHN  HAY,  Major  and  A.  A.  G." 

On  his  arrival  in  Canada,  Mr.  Greeley  despatched 
Colorado  Jewett  with  a  letter  to  the  Confederates,  in 
forming  them  that  he  had  an  order  from  the  President 

c5 

guaranteeing  their  protection,  and  inviting  them  to  ac 
company  him  to  Washington.  Whereupon  the  moun 
tain  proved  to  be  a  mole  hill. 

To  Mr.  Greeley's  letter  enclosing  the  President's  pro 
tection  Messrs.  Clay  and  Holcombe  replied,  expressing 
their  "  regret  that  the  safe  conduct  of  the  President  of 
"  the  United  States  has  been  tendered  us  under  some  mis- 
"  apprehension  of  facts.  We  are  not  accredited  to  him 
"  from  Richmond  as  bearers  of  propositions  looking  to  the 
"  establishment  of  peace  ;  but  we  feel  authorized  to  de- 
"  clare  that,  if  the  circumstances  disclosed  in  this  corres- 
"  pondence  were  communicated  to  Richmond,  we  would 
u  be  at  once  invested  with  the  authority  to  which  your 
"  letter  icfers.  We  respectfully  solicit,  through  your  in- 


12 

"  tervention,  a  safe  conduct  to  Washington,  and  thence 
"  by  any  route  which  may  be  designated,  through  your 
•"  lines  to  Richmond.  We  would  be  gratified  if  Mr. 
"  George  Sanders  was  embraced  in  this  privilege." 

Any  other  man  but  Mr.  Greeley,  on  finding  himself 
thus  duped  and  trifled  with,  would  have  thrown  up 
his  diplomatic  sponge.  But  Mr.  Greeley  would  "not 
"  give  it  up  so."  He  accordingly  sent  a  telegram  to  the 
President,  admitting  that  he  did  not  find  the  gentlemen 
referred  to  so  empowered  as  he  was  previously  assured, 
and  forwarding  their  request  for  the  President's  safe 
conduct,  to  Richmond. 

To  this  telegram  the  President  responded  as  follows  : — 
"  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  Washington,  July  18,  1864. 
46  To  WHOM  IT  MAY  CONCEBN  : — 

"  Any  proposition  which  embraces  the  restoration  of 
u  peace,  the  integrity  of  the  whole  Union,  and  the  aban- 
"  donment  of  Slavery,  and  which  conies  by  and  with  an 
•"  authority  that  can  control  the  armies  now  at  war 
"  against  the  United  States,  will  be  received  and  con- 
"  sidered  by  the  Executive  Government  of  the  United 
"  States,  and  will  be  met  by  liberal  terms  on  substantial 
"  and  collateral  points,  and  the  bearer  or  bearers  thereof 
"  shall  have  safe  conduct  both  ways. 

"(Signed),          ABRAHAM  LINCOLN." 

To  this  offer  of  the  President,  the  Confederate  agents 
replied  in  a  long  letter  to  Mr.  Greeley,  from  which  the 
following  is  an  extract : — 

"  If  there  is  any  citizen  of  the  Confederate  States  who 
•"  has  clung  to  a  hope  that  peace  was  possible  with  this 
"  administration  of  the  Federal  Government,  it  will  strip 
"  from  their  eyes  the  last  film  of  such  a  delusion  ;  or  if 
"  there  be  any  whose  hearts  have  grown  faint  under  the 
"  suffering  and  agony  ot  this  bloody  struggle  it  will  in- 
"  spire  them  with  fresh  energy  to  endure  and  bear  what- 
"  ever  may  be  requisite  to  preserve  to  themselves  and 
*•  children  all  that  gives  dignity  and  value  to  life,  or  hope 
"  or  consolation  to  death.  And  if  there  be  any  patriots 
4t  or  Christians  in  your  land  who  shrink  appalled  from  the 
"  illimitable  vista  of  private  misery  and  public  calamity 


13 

« which  stretches  before  them,  we  pray  that  in  their 
<<  bosoms  a  resolution  will  be  quickened  to  recall  the 
«'  abused  authority  and  vindicate  the  outraged  civilization 
»'  of  their  country." 

And  here,  for  the  time  being,  ended  Mr.  Greeley's  mis 
erable  Quixotic  negotiations  with  George  N.  Sanders, 
Jake  Thompson,  etc.,  etc.,  for  peace.  Mr.  Greeley,  how 
ever,  left  Canada  with  friendly  feelings  for  the  conspir 
ators  whose  last  letter  to  him  expressed  the  hope  that 
our  people  would  "  recall  "  the  u  authority"  which  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  had  "  abused ;"  and  we  have  George  San 
der's  authority  for  saying,  that  Mr.  Greeley  expressed  his 
regret  that  President  Lincoln's  conduct  had  not  been  that 
of  a  gentleman.  Sanders  is  not  a  witness  on  whose  ver 
acity  I  should  rely  ;  but  it  is  well  known  that  Mr.  Greeley 
was  highly  exasperated  with  the  President. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  renominated  in  1864  by 
the  National  Republican  Convention,  Mr.  Greeley  led  a 
movement  in  favor  of  a  radical  Convention  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  a  third  candidate. 
He  wrote  private  letters  to  leading  Republicans  in  New 
England,  urging  them  to  join  in  this  movement,  a  move 
ment  which  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to  surrender 
the  Government  of  the  Union  into  the  hands  of  its  ene 
mies.     This  movement,  in  its  design  and  purpose,  was 
identical  with  that  which  brought  Breckenridge  into  the 
canvass   of  1860.      The  disunionists  of  that   day   nom 
inated  Breckenridge  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  Douglas. 
The  Radicals  of  1864  nominated  Fremont  for  the  pur 
pose  of  defeating  Lincoln.     Both   of   these  movements 
were  treasonable.     The  first  because  it  contemplated  re 
bellion — and  the  last,  because  in  the  midst  of  war  it 
sought  the  overthrow  of  a  loyal  administration,  and  as  a 
consequence,  the  triumph  of  the  candidates  of  a  Copper 
head    organization.     When   the  war   was   finally   over ; 
when  a  peace  had  been  achieved — not  by  the  cowardly 
croakings  of  the  Tribune,  nor  the  officious  or  ill-omened 
negotiations  of  Messrs.  Greeley  and  Blair,  but  by  the  gal 
lantry  of  Grant,  Sherman,  Thomas,   Sheridan,  Farragut 


u 

Porter,  and  the  courage  and  fidelity  of  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  under  their  command — Mr.  Greeley,  faithful  to  his 
promise  to  those  whom  he  had  inveigled  into  secession, 
rushed  to  Richmond  for  the  purpose  of  releasing  Jefferson 
Davis  from  imprisonment.  Simultaneously  he  pro 
claimed  universal  amnesty  for  rebels,  including  those 
who  had  conspired  to  ~burn  New  York,  to  introduce  con 
tagion  into  our  cities,  and  to  assassinate  our  President. 
He  also  wrote  to  Mr.  Breckenridge,  if  not  to  other  exiled 
traitors,  inviting  them  to  return  to  a  country  which 
they  had  deluged  in  blood,  and  to  enjoy  the  protection 
of  a  Government  which  they  had  endeavored  to  destroy. 

This  is  a  truthful  record  of  Mr.  Greeley's  sentiments, 
sympathies  and  actions  on  the  questions  of  secession,  re 
bellion,  and  war.  It  is  shown  clearly  that  he  exerted  a 
powerful  influence  in  aid  of  secession ;  that  he  precipi 
tated  the  disastrous  battle  of  Bull  Run ;  that  he  pro 
tracted  the  war  and  encouraged  the  enemy  by  reiterated 
and  cowardly  demands  for  peace ;  that  he  released  Jeff. 
Davis  from  imprisonment — and  urged  universal  amnesty, 
so  that  Breckenridge,  Slidell,  Mason,  etc.  etc.,  may  be  re 
stored  to  their  seats  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
seats  which  they  abandoned  to  engage  in  a  treasonable 
war  against  the  Government  and  Union.  For  how 
many  millions  of  treasure  and  how  many  thousands  of  lives 
Mr.  Greeley  is  responsible,  I  will  not  undertake  to  say. 
But  I  will  say  that,  while  these  undeniable  facts  are 
fresh  in  my  memory,  he  will  not  receive  my  vote. 

And  now,  after  a  few  words  in  relation  to  Mr.  Greeley's 
fitness  for  legislative  duties,  I  will  bring  this  long  letter 
to  a  close.  The  act  of  our  legislature  authorizing  the  call 
of  a  Convention  to  amend  our  Constitution,  contained  a 
provision  which  secured  the  election  of  thirty  delegates 
by  a  practically  unanimous  vote.  Its  object  was  to  secure 
the  services  of  fifteen  of  the  ablest  and  most  experienced 
men  in  either  of  the  two  great  political  parties  of  our 
State.  Mr.  Greeley  engineered  the  Republican  State 
Convention,  and,  although  urged  to  place  on  the  ticket 
such  men  as  Francis  Granger,  Hamilton  Fish,  George  "W. 


15 

Patterson,  Alexander  S.  Johnson,  John  K.  Porter,  Charles 
P.  Kirkland,  Edward  Dodd,  John  A.  Kennedy,  Richard 
P.  Marvin,  etc.,  several  of  whom  had  been  enlight 
ened  members  of  the  third  Constitutional  Convention,  he 
refused  to  do  so,  preferring  as  colleagues,  for  the  most 
part,  a  very  different  class  of  men.  Mr.  Greeley  had 
often  in  conversation  expressed  a  desire  to  be  a  delegate 
in  such  a  convention,  believing^  as  he  said,  that  his  ser 
vices  would  be  useful  to  the  people.  In  that  convention 
there  was  a  decided  majority  of  Republicans.  Mr. 
Greeley,  therefore,  found  himself  with  congenial  associa 
tions  and  surroundings,  but  the  first  few  days  disclosed 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Greeley  was  out  of  his  element.  He 
thrust  impracticable  propositions  prematurely  upon  the 
Convention,  propositions  which  found,  little  favor  with 
men  who  had  taken  their  seats  with  the  greatest  admira 
tion  for,  and  the  highest  confidence  in  the  Editor  of  the 
Tribune.  Mr.  Greeley  soon  lost  his  temper,  and  long 
before  the  Convention  brought  its  abortive  labors  to  a 
conclusion  he  gathered  up  his  effects,  and  pronouncing  an 
unclerical  benediction  upon  his  colleagues,  he  left  the 
capitol.  The  result  was  that,  instead  of  framing  a  wise 
and  beneficent  Constitution,  so  much  needed  by  the 
changed  condition  and  circumstances  of  our  State  and 
people,  several  months  were  lost  in  discordant  views  and 
profitless  debates,  resulting  finally  in  the  production  of  an 
instrument  that  was  rejected  by  the  electors.  That  fail 
ure,  for  which  Mr.  Greeley  is  so  largely  responsible,  added 
nearly  half  a  million  of  dollars  to  our  State  debt. 

If,  therefore,  1  have  shown  that  Mr.  Greeley 's  secession 
and  war  records  are  disloyal  and  cowardly,  and  that  his 
unfitness  for  representative  duties  was  mischievously  ap 
parent  in  our  Constitutional  Convention,  you  will  not,  I 
feel  assured,  complain  of  my  second  refusal  to  vote  for 
him.  My  Congressional  vote  will  be  given  to  James  W. 
Booth,  who,  though  not  a  candidate,  is  a  Republican  of 
unquestioned  loyalty  and  patriotism. 

Very  truly  yours, 

THURLOW  WEED. 
Hon.  THOMAS  C.  ACTON. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


/|J\ 

^Espitrtetr 

(Wj 

_ 

i       S 

^  s§  a 

^         ~         LuT 

-_                                                                  !     >    ,..,.    •       :       f  •  ' 

•»   •-    i 

^:'-.A 

f&  S      o 

2                      ' 

o               3£ 

-    3    «    § 

g        *—        uu 

~                             *-                                            _^ 

99              £ 

~     5    Sc    S 

S          ^ 

— 

LD  21A-50m-4,'CO                                lT..S2£^fftmLnl 

(A9562slO)476B 


MAR  1 1 1957 


Berkeley 


C  14      0 


Pamphlet          4 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros.,  Inc.  1 
Stockton,  Calif. 

T.  M.  Reg.  U.S.  Pat.  Off.  I 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


